Exposition of the Whole Bible

experience inall ages. Mus — y.17. And Saul faid unto bis fervants, &c.] Approving of, and. pleafed with the advice they provide me now a man that can play well, and him to me, for being a fovereign prince, he command whom he would to attend his perfon and which was as much as a man could eat in one day’; gave: and according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, it may be bringiinterpreted an heap of bread, agreeable to the ufe couldjof the word in Fudg. xv. 16. and a bottle of wine; or a fkin of wine, a leather bag or fack, which held fervice. * more than our bottles; the Targum is, a flagon of

¥.18. Then anfwered one of the fervants, 8cc.] Which the Fews fay ™ was Doeg the Edomite, who wine: anda kid; of the goats, as the fame Targum: and fent them by David bis fon uato Saul;

out of envy and ill-will to David fpake of him, that Sau? might have an opportunity of flaying him; but this is not at all likely; rather it was one of Davia’s friends and acquaintance, that was defirous of promoting him at court, and no doubt was directed to that motion by the over-ruling providence of God: and faid, bebold, I bave feen a fon of Jefe the Bethlebemite, ‘he does not mention the name ‘of his fon, but’ fo defcribes him, that he -might be ‘eafily’ known by thofe who knew any -thing of the family of Yee’; befides it was futficient that. he was one of Fe/fe’s fons, to find him fome think that Fefe fufpected that Seul had got the fecret of David’s being anointed, and was fearful that he had a defign upon his life, and therefore fent this prefent by his fon to pacify him, and ingratiate him unto him; but rather he fent it as a token of refpect and fubjection to his fovereign, and according to the cuftom of thofe times, when men ufed to carry prefents when they waited upon princes, and indeed in their common vifits; and do in the eaftern countries to this day’; fee the note on ch. ix. 7.

y. 21. And David came to Saul, and ftood before

out: that is cunning in playing; that is, on the him, &cc.] Asa fervant, and miniftered to him in harp; has good fkill in mufic, and is expert in it: and a mighiy valiant man, as appeared by his encountring with, and flaying the lion and the bear; an event now paft; as very probable: and a man of war 3 fome'think: this ‘character of him was gi- the way, and for: the purpofe for which he was fent: and he loved him greatly., being a comely perfon, and a well-behaved youth, and efpecially as he was ferviceable to him with his mufic, indriving away melancholy from him: and be became ven after'the affair of his fighting with Goliath) bis armour-bearer; that is, he appointed him to this and killing him, but here put by a prolepfis or an-loffice, though we never réad that he exercifed ic;

ticipation; andindeed if David had been taken into Saul’s court before- that affair, it is difficult to account for Sau/’s ignorance of him, fince he muft nor did he go with Sau/ in this capacity to the battle related in the following chapter: it may be literally rendered, and be was to him a bearer of vef- be fo near him, and fo often with him, as his muels, or inftruments*; and Abarbinel thinks this is to fician and armour-bearer;“though that difficulty may be removed, as-may be obferved in its proper place: and prudent in matters; in his talk, and converfation, and conduct, ‘and behaviour; knew how to carry himfelf, even in a prince’s court: and a comely perfon which always recommended to the courts of the eaftern nations; fee the note on Dan.i. 4: and the Lord is with bim, profpering and fucceeding ‘hifn in whatfoever he is engaged;

be underftood not of inftruments of war,’ but of inftruments of mufic to play with; which he brought in. and bare before him when he went in to the king.

y.22. And Saul fent to Feffe, faying, let David I pray thee, ftand before me, 8c | Continue in his fervice; which was great condefcenfion in him, and great refpect fhewn to Feffe, not to detain his fon without his leave, and to afk it as a favour of him:

and feeing the Lord was with him, it might be for be hath found favour in my fight; was very ac- expected the evil fpirit would depart from Sau/, when this perfon with whom the Lord was, was in his prefence. The Zargumis, “ the Word of the Lord is for his help;’’ all that is faid of him fhewed that he was fit to be inthe palace of a king, ceptable to“him, which muft. be very pleafing to Fefjeto hear; efpecially if he was in any fear that Saul had an ill defign upon him, when he firft fent for him. agua i

¥. 23. And it came to pafs, when the evil /pirit and a proper perfon to be with Saw/ in his prefent from God was upon Saul, &c.|° See ¥. 14, 15. tho?

y. 19. Wherefore Saul fent meffengers to Feffe, &c.] For David; not chufing to take him without his leave, though Samuel fuggefts that kings would.do fo, ch. viii. ts. and faid, fend me David iby fon, which is with the foeep; he had learnt his name, and what was his employment; and which laft he mentions not by way of contempt, itnot being reckoned mean and defpicable even ‘in’ the fons of great perfonages, in thofe times and countries, to attend flocks and herds: fo with the Arads, the word evil’ is not in the text here; wherefore Abarbinel thinks that this here was the Spirit of God, which ftirred up’ in him thoughts of divine things, put him in mind of what God had faid, that he had rejected him from being king, and had rent the kingdom from him; and this filled him with ‘grief and trouble, and he became melana that “David took an harp, and played with is hands; upon it; and as Fofepbus * fays, at’ the fame time fung hymns and pfalms; made ufe both of vocal and inftrumental mufic: fo Saul was re- as Philo teftifies, young men and maids of the frefbed, and was well; became chearful, his grief moft illuftriows families fed»cattle; and with the ancient Romans, the fenator®, fed his own fheep. Paris, fon of Priamus, king of Troy, is faid? to was removed, his black and gloomy apprehenfions of things were difperfed, and he was cured of his melancholy diforder for the prefent: and the evil feed his father’s oxen and fheep; gnd Saad him- /pirit departed from him; at leaft for a while; he had felf had/done' the fame; but to defcribe him 'particularlyp> * SANNA aS pat “> y¥. 20. And Feffe took an afs laden with bread, &c.] Laden with.a load of bread, as the Targum; with as much as it could carry, or was uled to carry; the Septuagint verfion is, an omer of bread, his fits and intervals; of thé effeéts of mufic in a natural way, fee the’ note on y.'16, though no doubt the mufic of Dayid was more than natural, being attended with the power and bleffing of

God, in order to raife his fame and credit at court.

the battle in array againft the Philiffines; prepared to give them battle. N.S;

y. 3. And the Philifiines ftocd on a mountain on the one fide, and Irael ficod on a mountain on the other fide, &c.| Before the J/raelites are faid to encamp in or by the valley; but here they are faid - to take the higher ground, and face the PAiifines, who were on a mountain or hill on the other fide over-againft them, which Kimebi reconciles thus; the whole or the grand army lay encamped in the valley, and they that were fet in array, or the firft ranks, the firft battalion, afcended the mountain to meet the Philiftines. Vatablus takes it to be the fame mountain, that on one part of it the Philiftines formed their firft battalion, and the reft of the army was in the valley; and on the other part of the mountain the J/aelites pitched their camp: and there was a valley between them; the fame as in the preceding verfe. Cie

¥.4. And there went out a champion out ¢ camp of the Philiftines, 8c.] Ora mine a. a man detween two’; meaning either one that went d and ftood between the two armies, of J/rael, and the Philiftines, as the Fewi/h writers generally interpret it: or a dueHer*, as others, with which our verfion agrees; one that propofed to fight a duel and have the war decided by two perfons, of which ckob, which belongeth to Judah a city of the tribe of Fudah, Fob. xv. 35. which fhews that _ notwithftanding their laft defeat, they had great footing in the land of J/rael, or however had penetrated far into it in this march of theirs: and pitched between Shachoh and Azekab, which were both in the fame tribe, and near one another, of which fee the notes on For. x. 10, and xv. 35. in Epbes-dammim, which by an apocope of the firft letter is called Pas-dammim,1 Chron. xi. ¥3. which the Fews' fay had this name becaufe there he would be one: mamed Goliath of Gath; which was one of the places where the dnekim or giants were driven, and left, in the times of Fofbua, and » from whom this man defcended, Fof. sas 22 whofe height was fix cubits and afpan; and taking a cubit after the calculation of Bithop Cumber- /amd* tobe 21 inches, and more, and a fpan to be half a eubit, the height of this man was 41 feer 4 inches, and fomewhat more; which need not feem incredible, fince the coffin of Oreftes, the fon of Agamemnon, is faid.> to be 7 cubits long; and blood ceafed. Lleazar, a Few, who becaufe of his bignefS was

¥. 2. And Saul, and the men of Ifrael were gathered together, &c.| He being cured, at leaft being better of his diforder, through the mufick of David, and alarmed and arouled by the invafion of the Philiftines, which might ferve to diffipate any remains of it, or prevent its return, got together his. forces: and pitched by the valley of Elab; which Jerom *fays Aquila and Theodotion interpret the valley of the oak; but the Vulgate Latin vercalled the giant, and was prefented by Artabanus king of the Parthians, to Tiberius Cafar, is faith by Yofephus ‘to be 7 cubits high; and sede Bub. 4ara, of Arabia, in the times _of Claudius Cafar. meafured g feet 9 inches, as P/iny 4 relates and who elfewhere * fpeaks of ‘a people in Exbiopia, called Syrbote, who were 8 cubits high Bi the Septuas \gint verfion makes. Goliath to be only four cubits and a fpan high, and fo fo/ephus; that is, about fion, the valley. of Terebinth;. which, according eight feet.: F to our countryman Saadys, was four miles from Rama-fophim, where Samuel dwelt; for he fays, “ after four miles riding, we defcended into tiie valley. of Tercbinth, famous, though little, for the flaughter of Golias; and in the Targum, this valley is called the valleyof Butma, which in the Aradic language fignifies a terebinth, or turpentine-tree; though fome tranflate it the oak 5 and according to fome modern travellers *, to this day. name fimilar to that; for they fay it is “ now called the vale of Bitusten, very famous all over thofe parts. for David's victory over Goliath:” and fet

¥. 5. Aad he had az helmet 'o q ead, ee) This was-a. piece rs Petting. 9 covered the head in the day of battle; thefe were ufually made of the fkins of beatts of leather, and which were covered with plates of: iron or bisG 5 and fometimes made. of all iron, or of brafs €, a this feems to have been: and bina armed rts coat of mail; which reached from the neck to “nd it bears aj middle, and confifted of various plates of brafs laid on one another, like the feales of fithes", fo clot together that no dart or arrow could picred od tween: and the weight of the coat was 5000 foekels

Ayes chapter relates how the armies of J/rael, and of the Pbiliftines, prepared for battle, and where; y.1, 2, 3. defcribes a champion of the Philipines, who defied the armies of J/rael, y. 4—11, and whilft he was fodoing, it informs us that David came into the camp, and heard his words, and fignified to one and another his inclination to fight with him, y. 1230. which being reported to Saul, David.was fent for by him, and much difcourfe paffed between them about it, y. g1—37. when we are told the manner in which he engaged with the Philjfine, and the victory he obtained over him, y. 38—51. upon which the Pdiliftines fled, and Lfrael purfued them 5 and on account of this a@tion David was taken notice of by Saul, and brought to court again, as the following chapter fhows, ¥. §2+~58.

¥. 1. Now the Philiftines gathered together their arinies to battle, &c.|] ‘fofephus * fays this was not Jong after the things related in the preceding chapter were tranfacted; and very probably they had heard of the melancholy and diftraction of Saul, and thought it a proper opportunity of avenging themfelves on J/rael for their laft flaughter of them, and for that purpofe gathered together their difperfed troops: and were gathered together at Sho- of brafs; which made 156 pounds and a quarter, of zygoitatic or averdupois weight 5 and therefore rae he muft be a very ftrong man indeed to carry a weight. So the armour of the ancient Remans were all of brafs, as this man’s; their helmets, thields, greaves, coats of mail, all of brafs, as fays"; and fo in the age of the Grecian’ he- by

¥. 8. And he flood and cried unto the armies of Ij, 8c] He ftood in the valley between the two fuch, armies, and cried with a loud voice that he might be heard; and as he was of fuch a monftreus {tature, no doubt his voice was very {trong and {o- Livy norous; and as the battalions of Jjrael defiened> armies were pofted on the mountain or hill, his

Visca: voice would/afcend, and be the more eafily heard: y. 6. And be bad greaves of brafs upon his legs,,and faid unto them, why are ye come out ta fet your

- &c.] Which were a fort of boots, or lee-harnefies,| Battle in aray 2 either as wondering at’ their boldwhich covered the thighs and legs down tothe heels; nefs, to fet themfelves in battle-aray again the fuch as Jolaus*, and the Grecians ufually wore, as de-|Philiftines} or rather ‘fuggetting that. it was needfcribed by Homer; which are fuppofed tobe double the lels, fince: the difpute between them might be ifweight of the helmet, reckoned at 15 pounds, fo fued bya fingle combat: am not Ia Philiftine, and: that thefe muft weigh 30 pounds of averdupois you fervants to Saul? a common Pbiliffine, acweight: end a target of bra/s between bis fooulders, cording to Farchi, not acaptain of a hundred, or the Targum is, “ a {pear or thield of brafs, which, of a thoufand; and yet would ficht any one of came out of the helmet, and a weight of brafs upon them, their general officers, or be they who they his fhoulders.” archi {ays the fame, and that ic,would y:0r rather, as ABardinel, he was a prince: was in the form of a fpear to defend the neck from/among the Philiftines; and king of Gath; and tho?

thefword; it feems to be a corflet of brafs, worn between the helmet and the coat of mail for the defence of the neck, fuppofed to weigh thirty he was, and it was ufual'with ereat perfons to engage with their equals; yer he did not ihfift an that; but would engage with any man though of pounds '. an inferior rank, even with any of &aul’s fervants;

¥. 7. And the laff of his fpear was like a weavers beam, 8ec.| The wooden part of it held injhe the hand; this for thicknefs was like the beam in the weaver’s loom, about which the warp, or the web is rolled; and it is conjectured that in proportion to the ftdture of Goliath, his fpear mult bej 26 feet long, fince Heétor’s in Homer was 11 cubits, or 16 feet and a half: and bis fpear’s bead weighed 600 fhekels of iron; the iron part of the fpear, the point of it, which has its name in and by» calling the [/raelités the fervants of Saui, might have fome refpect to Savi’s arbitrary go-' vernment’ over them 5 and (ince they muft be ferelfe,vants and flaves, it was as well to be fervants tothe Philiftines as to him: chufe you a man for you,< and let him come down to me; according to Farchi and the Targumift, the challenge firtt refpects Saul their king; that if he was a/man of fortitude.and courage, let him come and engage with him; if not, He-ichufe another, and fend him down into the valley brew from a flame of fire, becaufé when brandifhed itlooks fhining and flaming; and being the weight of 600 fhekels, amounted. to 18 pounds and three quarters of averdupois weight, and the whole {pear- is fuppofed to weigh 37 pounds and a half; and the whole of this man’s. armour is thought to weigh 272 pounds, 13 ounces"; which was a prodigious weight fora man to carry, and go into battle with; and one may well wonder. how he could be able with fuch a weight about him to move and lay about in an engagement; though this is nothing in comparifon of the weight fome men have carried. Péinyo tells us that he faw one Athanatus come into the theatre clothed witha leaden breaft-plate of 500 pounds weight, and thod with bufkins. of the fame weight: and one bearing a foield went before kim; which when engaged in battle he held in his own hand, and his fword in the other; the former was reckonéd at 30 pounds, and the latter at four pounds one ounce; though one would think he had no occafion for a thield, heing fo well covered with armour all over; fo that the carrying of it before him might be only a matter of form and ftate. His fpear is the only piece of armour that was of iron, all the reft were of brafs; and Hefod? writing of the brazen age, fays, their arms and their houtes were all of brafs, ‘for then there was no iron; and fo Lwcretius 4 affirms, that, the ufe of brafs was before iron; but both are ‘mentioned together, Ges. iv. 22. fee the note; hence Mars is called Xaazeos Apns".

to fight with him, ‘Thefe fame writers reprefent him as‘bluftering and bragging that he killed the two fons of Elz, Hophni and Phinebas, took the ark captive, and carried it into the temple of Dazfon, that he had been ufed to go out with the armies of the Pbilifines, and had obtained victories, and flain many, and yet had never been made captain of a thoufand among them; all which is improbable, and fome of it notoriouflyfalfe; for in every battle after the taking of theark, the P4éiiifttnes had been beaten. ¥.'Q. If be be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your fervants, &c.1 For which it does not appear he had any commiffion or authority tofay; nor did the Pbiiifines think themfelves obliged to abide by what he faid, fince when he was flain, they did not yield themfelves fervants to the [fraelites: but if I prevail againft him, and kill him, then foall ye be our fervants, and ferve us 5 to which terms alfothe //rae/ites did not confent; nor did Dawid who engaged with him enter the lift on fuch conditions. ¥. 10. And the Philiftine faid, I defy the armies of Ifrael this day, 8c.) Or repreach* them; that is, thould they not accept his challenge, and fend down aman to fight with them, he fhould then upbraid therm with cowardice; and now he difdained them, as if there was not a man among them that dared to encounter with him: give me a man that we may fight together, and fo decide the controverly between us; fuch as were thofe duels fought between.. Paris

3. p.163. So Homer frequently defcribes the Grecians with a Coat

Paris and Merelans in the Trojan war, the Lacedemonians and the Argives in the times. of

and between| derable figure in the camp and courtiof Saal 2 anh - the three eldeft followed Saul as before related, and.

Orthryades, and between the Athenians and Romans which is repeated, that it might be -obferved that by the Horatii and Curiatii, as Grotius obferves. © ¥. 11. When Saul and all Ifrael heard thefe words of the Philiftine, &c.} For they were delivered with fuch a tone and ftrength of voice, as to be heard very generally, at leaft by many, and which foon was reported through the whole army: they were difinayed, and greatly afraid; which may feem ftrange, when there were fo many valiant men among them, as Sau/ himfelf, who had behaved with fo much courage againft the Ammonites, Pbi- Hftines and Amalekites; but now the Spirit of God was departed from him, and he was become timorous and fearful; and though he was much better than he had been, yet ftill he was not the man of fpirit and refolution as before: there was alfo 4dwer the general of his army, a very valiant man, ‘a great man in J/rael, and yet appears not on this occafion; and what is more wonderful, onathan the fon of Saul was prefent, as appears from ch.

they only of Fefe’s fons followed Sau/; not David particularly, but who was providentially fent to the army at the time the Pbiliftine was defying it. ionsg i oD el Yo 5. But David went, and returned from Saul, &c.] Or from above Saul, Fofepbus *fays, the phyficians of Saul advifed to get a man to ft ume xeParns, over his bead, and fing pfalms and hymns to him; and Saul being recovered from his phrenfy and melancholy by means of David's mufic, he was difmified from him, or had leave to go home, or he returned upon Sza/’s taking the field; though one would think, if he was now his armour-bearer, he would have gone with shim, fee ° ch. xvi. 21. It feems, that when he was called to the court of Saul, that he did not continue there, but was going and coming, was there at certain times when Sau] wanted him; and fo when in the camp he might go and return as there was occa- xviii. 1. who had not only fmitten a garrifon of fion fort: zo feed his father’s fheep at Bethlebem;

the Philiftines, but with one man more only had attacked another garrifon, and routed the whole army of the Péiliftines, and yet now fhows not his head againft a fingle man: fo it is when God cuts off the fpirits of princes, or takes away their courage, victory over this man, and the glory of it, were referved for David; and all this fear and dread throughout the armies of J/rael were fuffered, that he might appear the more glorious.

y.12. Now David was the fon of that Ephrathite of Betblehem-judab, whofe name was ‘Feffe, &c. Before made mention of, ch. xvi. 1. and he had eight fons, feven only are mentioned, 1 Chron. ii. 13, 14,15. one of them being, as is thought by fome, #. grandfon, perhaps Yonadad the fon of Shammab, or was a fon by another woman, or died without children, as Zarchi, and therefore not mentioned: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul;.the phrate, among men, either fignifies, that he was ranked among old men, infirm and unfit for war, and fo excufed, and his fons went in his room, fo Kimchi; or he was reckoned among men of the firft rank, men of efteem, credit and reputation, fo archi, and R, L/aiah, with which agrees the Targum; or whenever he went abroad, he was attended by many men, had a large retinue, which fenfe 4barbinel mentions, and is that of Ben Gerfom, and agrees with the Talmud‘; but the Syriac and Arabic verfions read ftricken in years, which feems moft agreeable.

¥.13. And the three eldeft fons of Feffe went, and followed Saul to the battle, &c.| Either of their own accord, or rather at their father’s motion, or however with his knowledge and confent, who becaufe he could not go himfelf, willed them to go; and thefe were forward, and fome of the foremoft that followed Sau! to the battle, being zealous and well difpofed to defend their king and country: and the names of the three fons that went to the bat: tle, were Eliab the firft-born, and next unto bim Abinadab, and the third Shammah; who are the three mentioned by name that pafled before Samuel, when he came to anoint one of Fefe’s fons to be king, ch. xvi. 6, 8, 9.

-¥. 14, And David was the youngeft, &c.] For the fake of whom this account is given of Felfe and his family, and who after this makes a confi- for though he was anointed king, and was ‘called to court, yet’ fuch was his humility, that. he condefcended to attend this employment of keeping: fheep; and though Jefe knew all this, yet he k him at home to this bufinefs, when it might be more reafonably thought he would have lain in the way of preferment, had he followed Saud to the. camp, and appeared in the army; but he chofe to leave things to the» providence of God» to work the way for him, and by which he was directed to take the following ftep, though perhaps without any defign to his fon’s future promotion, © =." y¥. 16. And the Philiftine drew near morning and evening, &c.] Twice a day, he came near the camp, within the hearing of it. The fews ™ fay, he took thofe feafons on purpofe to difturb: them> in reading their Shema, or bear, O I/rael, &c. and faying their prayers morning and evening: amd prefented bimfelf 40 days; fucceflively, before the armies of J/rae/, daring them to fend down a man to fight with him, and reproaching them for their cowardice in not doing it. ave y.317. And Feffe faid unto David bis fon, 8a} His youngeft fon thar was at home with him keeping fheep; he had three more at home, and who were elder than David, and yet he is direéted by the providence of God to pitch upon him, and fend himyon the following errand, there being work for him to do Jefe knew nothing of: take

‘now for thy brethren an ephak of this parched corn;

pointing to a quantity of it in a certain place; this was wheat or barley dried in a furnace or oven, and ground into meal, and being mixed with water,” or milk, or butter, or honey, or oil, was eaten, and reckoned very delicious; and befides this, there was another fort of Kali, the word here ufed, which was parched pulfe, as beans, peafe, fc. parched, and which to this day is by the Arabs called by - this name*; of both which mention is made, 2 Sams. xvil. 28. Now an ephab was as much as ten men could eat ina day, it confifted of ten omers, Exod, xvi. 16, 36. and the number ten is often ufed of loaves and cheefe: and thefe ten loaves of bread;

jor cakes of bread, as Kimchi interprets it; pieces — or morfels of bread, as the Targum; which feems not fo agreeable as loaves or cakes, which are nc in the text, but to be fupplied: and rum to b

‘camp to thyobretbren'; which, according to Bunting’, was. tour miles from Bethlebem, and whither at feems he went a foot, and is bid to make hatte, ‘and even to run, as his brethren might be in want of provifion; and Feffe was very defirous of relieving them, and hearing from them as foon as poffible; it is very likely he had a fervant or fervants of waggons faftened tO each others though it may only fignify the camp itfelf, which Tay, in a circular form, with proper guards about it to watch the enemy. Now David came up to it juft as the hoft was going forth to the fight; preparing and get~ ting every thing ready to the battle, and in motion, and upon the march to meet the enemy: and torattend him, and affift in carrying this load of /houted for the battle; which was ufually done when provifion, which, with what follows, was too much for one man to run with. |

¥. 08. And carry thefe ten soe unto the captain of their thoufand, &c.] Their chiliarch or colonel, who had the command of a 1000 men, and under whom 7effe’s fons fought, Farchi thinks this was Yonatban, who had 1000 men with him at Gibeah, and fo now, ch. xiii. 2. thefe cheefes were fent by Feffe to the captain, to be diftributed among his men, or a prefent to himfelf, that he might ufe his fons well who were ‘under his command: and look bow thy brethren fare, whether in good health, in good fpirits, and in fafety: and take their pledge; that is, if they had been obliged for want of money to pawn any of their clothes, or what they had with them to buy food with, that he would redeem and take up the pledge, by paying the money for which they were pawned; for it is thought that foldiers-at this time were not maintained at the expence of the king and government, but at their own, and the families to which they belonged: though fome are of opinion, that this was fome token which they had fent by a meffenger to their father, by which he might know he came from them, fo Bex Gerfom; and which David was now to take with him,and réturn it; or,a token that he was to bring from them, whereby he might be affured of their welfare; and fo the Zargum, ‘* and bring their goodnefs,” a token of their being in good health... The ews * underftand it of bills of divorce to be given to their wives, that if they fhould die in battle, or be taken captive, that their wives might marry after three years.

¥.19. Now Saul, and they, &c.] That is, the fons of Feffe, and brethren of David: and all the men of Ifrael;-the foldiers in the army: were 27 the valley of Elah, or by it, near unto it; for they were fet in array on the mountain on the fide of, it: Sighting with the Philiftines; not actually engaged in battle, but drawn up for it; prepared and in readinefs to engage whenever it was neceflary, or they were obliged to it; and perhaps there might be now and then fome fkirmifhes in the out-parts of the camp. ’

¥. 20.. And David rofe up early in the morning, &c.] Being very ready and eager to obey his father’s orders, and vifit his brethren: and left the foeep with a keeper; which fhewed his care and faithfulnefs in the difcharge of his office; he was not unmindful of his father’s fheep, any more than of his commands: and tock; the ephah of parched corn, the ten loaves, and the ten cheefes: and avent, as Feffe bad commanded him went and carried them to the camp, according to his orders: and he came to the trench; fofs or ditch, which was caft up all around the army, partly to prevent the enemy falling on them before, and partly to prevent deferters from them behind; or the word fignifying a waggon or carriage, which is here ufed, this might be a fence around the camp made defy I rael is he come up; to challenge them to about to make the onfet, to animate the foldiers, and ftrike the greater terror into the enerhy; and this noife was fometimes. made with the voice in a hideous and howling way, and was called barritus* by the Romans; with the Trojans it was like the noife of cranes in the air®; it was alfo attended with the clafhing of fhields and f{pears*; with the Per/ians, itwas a rough, boilterous, and confufed noife *.

y¥. 21. For Ifrael and all the Philiftines bad put the battle in array, &c.) Both fides prepared for it, and drew up in line of battle: army againft army 5 sank againtt rank, battalion againtt battalion, the right wing of the one againit the left of the other, &e..

¥.22. And David left bis carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, &c.] That is, he left his load of provifions he brought with him, in the hand of the keeper of the bag and baggage of the army,.their clothes, and fuch like things; not having an opportunity to deliver them to his brethren, who were juft going to engage in battle: and ran into the army, which fhowed the valour and courage of David, who chofe rather to expofe himfelf in battle, than to abide with the keeper of the carriages: and came and faluted bis brethren, afked them of their welfare, in his father’s name and his own.

y.23. And as he talked with them, &c.] About their health, and the errand he came upon, and the meflage’of his. father to them, and how it was with him, who fent them his beft wifhes » there came up the champion, the Philiftine of Gath, Goliath by name; of whom fee y. 4. he came out of the valley, and drew near to the mountain the J/raelites were defcending: out of the armies of the Philiftines; from the plains where they were encamped, as Kimchi, though they feem to have been encamped on a mountain as the J/raelites were; or from the ranks of the Philiftines; according to the marginal reading, he came out of one of the battalions that ‘were fet in array: and {pake according to the fame words; which he had fpoken time after time forty days fuccefiively, namely, what is exprefied, y. 8, 9, 10: and David heard them; and -obferved

_¥. 24. And all the men of Ifratl, when they faw the man, &c.} Even as it fhould feem before they heard him; knowing who he was, and what he was about to fay, having feen and heard him forty | days running: fled from him, and were fore afraid; it is pretty much a whole army fhould be afraid of one man, and flee from him; they mutt be greatly forfaken of God, and given up by him, fee Deut. Xxxii. 30. but perhaps they were not fo much afraid of perfonal danger from him, as that they could not bear to hear his blafphemy. i

¥. 25. And the men of Irael faid, &c.] To one another: have ye feen this man that is come up? taken notice of him, and obferved him? /rely to fight with fim) and ‘upbiaid thent-with cowardice that’ they did not: and it fhall be that the man who killeth bim; this, and what fellows, they faid to encourage any perfon to engage with him, though none of them cared to encounter him themfelves: the’

king will enrich bim with great riches, give hima large gratuity, make a prefent’ of a great fum of money to-him: and will give bim his daughter, to be his wife, in like manner as Caleb promifed to give his daughter in marriage to the perfon that fhould take Kirjath-fepher, Judg. i. 12. and make bis father’s bouje free in Ifrael; from all tributes, taxes, levies, impofitions, king’s fervice and duty; or, as the Targum, ‘“ make his father’s houfe freemen, nobles;” raife it to the rank of nobility. _¥. 26. And David fpake to: the men. that flood by him, &c.] Who were next to him looking upon the Philiftine, and hearing what he faid, faying: what foall be done to the man that killeth this Philiftine, and taketh away. the reproach from Ifrael? which he afked not for the fake of the reward, but to obferve the neceffity there was of fome man’s. engaging with him, and killing him, or otherwile it would be a reproach to //rae/, and to. fignify that he had an inclination to attempt it: for who is this uncircumcifed Philiftine, that he foould defy the armies of the living God? there were two things which provoked David, and raifed indignation in him againft this man; the one was, the character of the perfon that reproached, a Philiftine, an uncircumeifed perfon, a prophane man, that had no ‘true religion in him, an alien from the commonwealth of J/rae/, anda ftranger tothe covenants of promife; and the other was the perfons whom he reproached, the armies of the living God, of the

King of kings, and Lord. of lords; and which in effect was reproaching the Lord himfelf, and which David, filled with zeal for God, and for his people, could not bear; and the confideration of thefe things animated him to engage with him, not doubting of fuccefs.: ¥. 27..And the people anfiwered him after this manner, &c.) Told him what was propofed. to be done in honour to the man that fhould attempt to kill him, and 'fucceed: faying, fo hall it be done to the man that killeth bim as before related, that he fhould be enriched, marry the king’s daughter, and his family be ennobled. y¥. 28. And Eliab his eldeft brother beard when he Spake unto the men, &c.| Heard the quettions he put to them, by which he perceived his inclination: and Eliab’s anger was kindled againft David becaufe what he had faid carried in it a tacic reproach of him, and others, that they had not the courage, and did not attempt to encounter with the Philiftine; or the difpleafure he expreffed.was either out of affection to him, fearing, or being aflured almoft he would perith in the enterprize; or rather out of envy to him, left fucceeding in fo bold an action, he fhould gain fuperior glory to him, and the reft of his brethren, who yet was the youngeft of them: and he faid, why comeft thou down hither? for though David had talked with his brethren, or had begun to talk with them, yet coming: and with whom haft thou left thofe few Sheep in the wildernefs? the wildernefs of Judea, or fome wildernefs near Bethlebem; by this he would not only infinuate a charge of unfaichfulnefs, in not taking care of his father’s flock committed to kim; but his view was to make him look. little

%, phy 26—% x by ee AA Wes aie + ea ¥ and: mean“in the eyes Of the people; that inthe family he belonged: to: he was thought to” ej fit: *, for nothing but to: keep fheep, and thoie butwa: fmall flock, and in doing this was negligent and: careleis: J know thy pride, and the naugitine s of — thine beart; that he was too proud to keep theep,. and wanted to advance himfelf, in’ the army, and. make a figure there,,and thereby gratifychiswar nity and ambition, which was the reverie of David’s, character; for fuch: was. his humility, oth though he was anointed king, and had been -pré- _ ferred in Sau’s,court, yet condefcended with alk readinefs to keep his father’s fheep;. and what he. now propofed was not from any bad principle in. his heart, but purely for the glory of God, and. the honour of the people of J/rae/, whorwere both. reproached: for thou art come down that thou mighteft: fee the battle, out of curiofity, and to take every advantage and opportunity of fignalizing and mak-. ing himilelf famous.. At Tanking ¥. 29. And David faid,. what have I now. done? &c.] That is criminal and blame-worthy; “as if he fhould fay, I have only expreffed an indignation. again{t this uncircumcifed Péilifiine, and a concern for the glory of God, and the honour ef t e people of U/rae/: is there wot a ceufe? either forhis. coming’ to the camp, being fent by his father; Or of his’ expreffing himfelf with indignation at the Pbiliftine’s defiance of the armies of J/rael.. Sometake the fenfe to be,. that he had done nothing, “he had not committed any fact; it was mere words which he had faid, he had atrempted nothing, and. therefore there was no reafon to bear fo hard upon him’; to this purpofé is the Targum, “* what have I done as yet? is it not a word only which Iv have- {poken?”” but the former fenfe feems belt ~» ¥. 30. And he turned from him towards another, &c.] From his brother £/iab, to another perfon. right againft him, and directed his difcourfe tohim: and fpake after the fame. manner; as in ¥. 26. enquiring what encouragement. would be given to a man ‘that fhould attempt to kill the Pailiftine,. and exprefling his concern to-hear the armiesof © the living’God defied by fuch a wretch: and the. people anfwered bim again after the formerunanner. telling him what" gratuities: and honsurs would. be conferred on fuch a pérfon;. as*in ¥v25./ and. the defign of his talking to one, and to another,. was, that what he had faid might fpread and reach to the ears of Sau], to whom in modefty he did nor. chufe to apply himfelf. | é y. 31. And when the words were heard which David fpake, &c.| ‘To one, and to another, and. thefe reported to other perfons,. and fo they went from one to another through many hands: they _ rebearfed them before Saul; coming to the ears of fome of his courtiers and’ counfellors, or officers. about him, they told him what fuch an one had faid: and he fent for him; to his tent or pavilion. where he was, to talk with him on’ this fubjeét. From the 11th verfe, to the end of this, the whole is wanting in the Septuagint verfion, according tothe Vatican exemplar; and thefe tebenty: verles are wot thought, by fome’, to be an’ interpolation s and. he had not fufficiently explained the reafons of his 2 J Pp 5 an it muft be owned, there’are difficulties in them, __ and that the connexion of y..11th with the follow- =. ing, is very clear and confiftent, as alfo is ¥. goth left out in the fame verfions and likewife the four.; laft verfes of the chapter, and five with - ne

¥. 32. And David faid to Saul, let no man’s beart fail becaufe of him, &c.| The Philiftine, tho’ gigantic, mighty and bluftering; this he faid within himlelf, fo Kimchi; as David perceived the hearts of molt, if not all, did, fince none dared to go out and fight him, but on the contrary fled from him: thy fervant will go and fight with this Philiftine; and therefore there need be no thought, care or concern to look out for another man.

clean, fo he would be in his end, killed as they $ fojof this David was fully perfuaded and affured in mind, having an impulfe from the Spirit of God; by which he was certified of it: /eeing be bath defed the armies of the living God; fo that as he juftly deferved to die, he made no dowbt of it, it would be his cafe. | y. 37. And David faid morzover, 8c] For the farther confirmation of it, and as more ftrongly ex-

¥. 33. And Saul faid to David, thou art not able to go againft this Philiftine to fight with him, &c. Had neither ftrength of body, nor fkill in military affairs, to encounter with a man of his ftature and warlike genius and practice:

youth; fome fay about 14 or 16 years of age, very probably about 20, and not more, and fo not only weak, but inexpert in the art of fighting: aid be a man of war from bis youth; a gigantic man, trained up in, inured to, and expert in the ‘affairs of war; fo that David could not, on account, be a competitor with him, and a match preffing his faith of it; not as owing to any patu- \ral ftrength or fkill of his, but to the power of God, of whofe affiftance he made no queftion: the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, for thou art but aland oat of the paw of the bear; for to him he butlafcribes his deliverance from thofe favage creatures, and his vi€tory over them; and on him he relied for help and falvation in the prefent cafe: he will deliver me out of the hand of ibis Philiftine; David did not go forth in his own name and ftrength, but anyjin the namie and ftrength of the Lord of hofts: aud Saul; feeing him fo pofitive and fully affured

for him. of victory: faid unto David, go, and the Lord be

¥.34. And David faid unto Saul, &c.] In an-(with fwer to his objection of inability to encounter with one fo fuperior to him; and this anfwer is founded on experience and facts, and fhews, that he was not fo weak and inexpert as Sau/ took him to be: thy fervant kept his father’s foeep,; which he was not afhamed to own, and efpecially as it furnifhed him with an inftance of his courage, bravery and fuccefs, and which would be convincing to Sau there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, mot that they came together; though Kimchi fo interprets it, a lion with a bear, but thefe are creatures that don’t ufe to go together; and befides, both could not be faid with propriety tojof dra take one and the fame lamb out of the flock: to which may be added, that David in the next fpeaks only of one, out of whofe mouth he took the lamb; wherefore the words may be rendered, a lon or a bear’; and if the copulative and is retained, the meaning can only be, that at different times they would. come and take a lamb, a lion at one time, and a bear at another. him with:

¥. 36. Thy fervant flew both the lion and the'bear, &c.] At different times, and feveral of them * one time or another, whenever any of them came into the flock, he ufed to lay hold on them and kill them, with-all the eafe imaginable. The ews! fuppofe this phrafe denotes many of them*. _4zd this uncircumcifed Philiftine foall be as one of them ’ as he was like them in nature, favage, crvel thee; to help and affift him, to deliver him out of the hand of the Péiliftine, and give him victory over him; the Targum is, “* the Word of the Lord be for thy help.”

y. 38. And Saul armed David with bis armour, 8zc.] Not with what he wore himfelf; for it can’c be thought he would ftrip himfelf of his armour in the field of battle, and when juft going to it;: andjand befides, what fuited the one would not be fit for the other, their bulk and ftature being different; but this was fome armour Saul had brought with him, befides what he himfelf wore, to furnifh any with that might want it: and be put an belmet s upon bis bead; fuch an one, though not fo large,as Goliath had, thefe being ufually. made verfejof brafs; fee the note on ¥.5. alfo be armed him with a coat of mail, which probably was of brafs jalfo, and like that of Golath’s too, only lefftr, y¥. 5.

¥. 39. And David girded his fword upon bis armour, &c.] Which Sau/ alfo perhaps furnifhed and he affayed to go, made an attempt, and had a mind to go thus accoutred; he at firft fhewed an inclination to go in fuch an habit, but afterwards would not: for he had not proved it; as warriors were wont to do; fo Achilles did’; he never made trial of fuch armour before, he had not been ufed to it, and knew not how to behave in after helit, or walk with it on him; it was an incumbrance to him: bardinel renders it, but be had not proved it; he would have gone with it but for that réafon; the Targum is, “* becaufe there was no miracle in them;” becaufe if he had made ufe of this, there would have been no appearance of a miracle in getting the victory over. the Phili/tine, as was by ufing only a fling and ftones: and David faid unto Saul,. 1 cannot go with thefe, for I have not proved he thought fit to acquaint Sau/ with it that he could not go. thus accoutred, and his reafon for atjit, left.he fhould be offended with him: and Da- - vid put them off him, took off the helmet from his head, ungirt the fword upon his armour, and tripped himfelf of his coat of mail, and went forth entirely unarmed. yea cay “y.40. And he took his ftaff ii his band, &c.] His and un-'fhepherd’s ftaff which he ufed in keeping his fa-

¥. 35. And I went out after bim, &c.}, Whether a lion or a bear; but mention after being made of his beard, a lion rather is meant: and /mote him; with his fift, or rather with his fhepherd’s ftaff: and delivered it out of bis mouth; {natched it out from thence, or obliged him to drop it, by beating him: and when be arofe againft me; had let go the lamb, threatening to tear him in pieces for attempting to difturb him in his prey, and take it away from him: J caught him dy bis beard; fuch as lions have; hence a lion is often called in Homer ® Ais nevieveos, the well-bearded lion. Kimchi thinks, the beard with the nether jaw is meant, which David caught hold on: and mote bim, and flew him; tore him to pieces, as Samfon did, or Nlew him with fome weapon in his hand. ~ {them;

470 1 SAMUEL. Ch. xvit.y. 4146: ther’s theep, ahd chofe father to appear in the ha- tant, and therefore bids him come up.to bim, and bit of a fhepherd than of a foldier: and chofe bim he would foon difpatch him; unleis he faid this, five fnooth ftones out of the brook, which ran in becaufe David was light and nimble, and he heavy the valleys which became fmooth by lying in the and unweildy becaufe of his bignefs, and. the burwater fUnning over them and which being fmooth |den of armour on him, and therefore could nog wete fitter for his purpofe, being the more eafily|make fuch hafte as he wifhed, to deftroy his ad-:

“‘eaft out of the fling; though De Diew is of opi-jverfary, of which he made no doubt: and J wa nion, that thefe were parts or pieces of ftones, cleft! give thy flefo wnta the fowls of the air, to the ones, which were rough and’ rugged, and which! deaffs of the jield; the wild beatts he means 3, tho”, would mote eafily and firmly be fixed in the fore-) Farcbi thinks, he fpoke improperly. fince it is head of the Philiftine: and put them in a foephera’s| the way of the bealts of the field, as fheep, oxen, & bag which be had, even in a ferip; in which he hadjto devour a man, or even to eat,any fleth, and there~ been wont to put things he needed for the good}fore he obferves, when David comes, he ufes anof the flock, and was fuch as travellers put theirjother word, which fignifies the wild beafts of the food in; and this might alfo be the ufe of it with| earth, and fo we render it, ¥. 46. but Kimchi fthows, fhepherds; ‘but, according to the Ethiopic interpreters*, it’ was that piece of the leather in the midft of the fling, in which the flingers ufed to put the ftones, that they might ftick the more firmly: and his fling was in bis band; which he intended to ufe in flinging the ftone or ftones he had in his ferip; and which was an exercife he had been accuftomed to in all likelihood, and for which the Benjaminites his neighbours, of the next tribe, were very'famous: and he drew near to the Phtliftine; marched towards him, thereby fignifying that he accepted his challenge; and would enter the lift with him.

y¥. 41. And the Philiftine came on, and drew near anto David, &c.] By flow paces, becaufe of the weight of his armour, and bulk of his body, yet with a haughty air, and a proud gait: and the man that bare the fhield went before him, fee the note on y. 7.

¥.42. And whem the Philiftine looked about and faw David, he difdained him, &c.] He looked about for his antagonift to take a’view of him, what fort of a man he was, expecting to fee one much like himfelf; but obferving a puny young man, he defpifed him in his heart, and perhaps looked upon it as an affront to him to fend fuch a man to fight-with him: fer be was bat a youth; his age was one reafon why he defpifed him,. being, as before obferved, about 20 years of age, and not come to his full ftrength, a flripling, as mine bands, &c.

that even thefe are comprehended in the word here” ufed, fee Jf. xviii. 6 % ¥. 45. Then faid David to the Philifiine, &c.] In an{wer to the contempt he held him in, and to the threatening words he gave him: ¢hou comeft to me with a fword, and with a pear, and with a@ foield 5 the word for /bield is not the fame with that fo.

rendered,.¥. 41. which his armour-bearer carried before him, but with that tranflated a target, which was between his fhoulders, y. 6. however, they were all weapons of war, either defenfive or

offenfive: uf I come to thee in the name of the

Lord of hofts, the Gad of the armies of Ifrael, whom: thou baft defied; the Lord of all hofts, in eae and in earth in general, and in particular the Go of the armies of J/rael,; which he was at the i % of, led on, protected and defended, having a kin and merciful regard unto them, and which this Philiftine had defied, reproached and blafphemed 5 and now Devid was come by a commiffion irom this great Jehovah, to vindicate his honour, and. to avenge his people on him: he had aflsed for.

man, and now the Lord of hofts, athe Jeg obferve, comes forth as a man ef war, for th battle was his, as in a following verfe ‘and basid was his meflenger, and came in his; name, an was the man into whofe hands he fhould be given,” A, yi

ig ¥. 46. This day will the Lord deliver thee into

Of which he was affured by di- he is called, ¥. 56. another reafon follows, asdivine infpiration, by the impulfe of the Spirit of vuddy, and of a fair countenance, looked effemi- ‘nate, had not the appearance of a foldier, of a weather-beaten veteran, expofed to heat and cold, and inured to hardfhips.

¥.43. And the Philiftine faid unto David, am I

God upon him; or otherwife he could nor haye exprefled himéelf with fuch certainty, and have aire.

the particulars of what he fhould do, as in the fol lowing claufes: and I will fmite thee, and take thine bead from thes, and yet he had no weapon in his a dog, &¢.] Truly David did not think him much better, becaufe of his impudence, impurity, and barking blafphemy againft God, and the armies ‘of Ifraél, the Targum is, ** am | a defpifed dog?” verily he was by David: that thou comeft to me with flaves? or with a ftaff, the plural for the hand to do it with, ¥. 50. but it was revealed to him that he fhould do it, and he believed it; tho” the Pdilifime no doubt lookéd upon all this as T0- mantic: azd I will give the carcaffes. of the bof of Philiftines this day unto the fowls of the air, the wild deajts. of the earth; not, only this man’

‘fingular, to beat him with it as a dog is’ beaten, and as David ufed to beat his dog with, while Keeping his father’s fheep, when the dog he had with him did not do his bufinefs as he fhould; he ‘fays nothing of his fling and ftones, they being out of fight: and the Philiftine curfed David by bis gods; by: Dagon and others; he madé an imprecation by them, and wifhed the gréatef evils might befal him from’ them; he devoted him to _ them,. and doubted not. to make a facrifice of fowls and wild beafts, but the carcafies Philiftine army, which Seeing upon.the fall 6f their champion, and purfued by the Dfraelites as they were, would-be cut off, and become the food of wild creatures, fee y. 52; though fome. think the plural is put for the fingylar, and that it onl means his carcafs who was a Pbzlifine; Net the hoft_ of the PAiltines, carries it to the other fenie; and this would be done, tZet. all. the earth may tno him. ~ i there is a God in I/rael, not only the land of Ca-

¥. 44. And the Philiftine faid to David, comé to naan or Paléftine, but the whole earth, and all th me, &c.} He feems to have ftood ftill difdainin to take another ftep towards fuch a pitiful-comba-+ this giant by fuch means, and of the carcafs, which fhould fall and become a Par Se me,.:

‘i -; ia _ Charney 52) [LAS MU EL: A7i Philifine army upon it; the report of which no) doubt was fpread far and near, {tone is immerfed y. 47. And all this affembly foall know, &c.| The congregation of Jrael, and church of the living God, great part of which were now gathered together, and were fpectators of this wonderful event: that the Lord faveth not with fword and fpear;, that is, by outward means and-inftruments, by arms| and armed men; he-does not fave by them only, or by them always; he can fave as well without them, as with them: for the battle is the Lord’s; it, is under his direction; the iffue and event of it depend on his will, and are owing to him or, as the Targum, ‘‘ from the Lord is the victory. of wars,” it is he that gives it to whom he pleafes: and be will give you into our hands; not only this Pbhiliftine into the hands of David, but the army of them into the hands of the J/raelites; David knew, and was affured of this by the Lord, and jt was on this he relied, and was what animated him to engage with this champion in the manner unk into bis forebead; and fo into his brain; asa and finks in water; when thrown jinto it; with fuch force did it go, and with fo much eafe did it make its way, through the direction and power of God: and he fell upon bis face 40 the earth 5 Farchi oblerves, that it was moft natural for him to have fallen backwards, being truek upon his forehead; but fo it was, that Davd might have no trouble to cut off his head, for by this means he fell nearer to him.

¥. 50. So David prevailed over the Philifiine with ¢ fling, and with a fione, &c.] And with them only, without any other warlike weapon: and /mote te Philifliney and flew him fmote him with thé {tone, which brought him to the ground, and then flew him with his own {word, as: afterwards related: 4ué there was. no /word in the hand of David 5 when he engaged with the Pdiliftine, and fmote him, for he had put off all his armour, y. 39.

y.51. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Pdiliftine, &c:] Upon his carcafs, as it lay pro- he did. {trate on the ground, and trampled on him, in juft

¥. 48. And it came to pafs when the Philiftine erofe, &c.] Or prepared for the encounter, and was in all probanility in great wrath and fury at hearing what David faid, and which haftened him to it: avd came and drew nigh to meet David, as faft as his unwieldy body, and heavy load of armour on him, would admit of: that David bafted end ran toward the army; the army of the Péiliftines, from whence this champion came: the Philiftine, to get up to him before he could draw his {word, or put himfelf in a pofture to make ule of any weapon'to {trike at David with, to by ‘y. 49. And David put bis hand in his bag, &c.\ Whe fhepherd’s fcrip, in which he had. put the five ftones he took out of the brook: aud took thence a ftone; and put it into his fling he had in his hand; aud flang it, and fmote the Philiftine in bis forebead; \t is made a difficulty of, how he fhould fmite him on his.

put back -his' helmet to talk with David, and-hear, and.be heard. the better 3, and haying nothing» to fear from-an unarmed man, might neglect:to it forward again; or there might be fome:open fpace left in the helmet for him to look throughi, in/at which the {tone might: pafs; fo the Ta*gun senders it, -he {mote him in the houfe: of his eyes, fo the ftone paffed through the’ eye-hole into) his -brain: but after all, fuppofing his forehead ever fo well covered, as the ftoneflung by David was vunder.a divine direction, fo as to hit a perfon: in -motion, if came with, aydivine:power, which nothing could refift; and: fuppofing this; of -which -there need no doubt, it couldias eafily pafs through =the helmet of brafs, as pierce into his forchead and fink there; nor, can'this»be:thonghrythe: incredible, if what Diodorus Siculus™ relates of Baleares be true, that they were fo dextrous at flinging, that they not only would fling ftones-bigger than others could, and were fo direéted, that they feldom miffed their mark, being inured to it from their youth, but would even in battle break in pieces fhields, helmets, and all kinds of armour, contempt of him who had defied, reproached, and defpifed the armies of [rael: and took bis word, and drew it out of the fbeath thereof, which no doubt was a very large one, and. required a good deal of ftrength to unfheath it, and ufe it; and therefore either David, though fo very young, was naturally very ftrong, or he had at this timea more than ordinary meafure of ftrength given him: and 40 meet Vlew bim; for it feems that by the blow of the ftone he was only ftunned, and fell to the ground, but ftill had lite in him, which David foon put an end his own {word: and cut, off bis bead therewith; by which it would appear to both armies: looking on, that his bufinefs was done, and he was thoroughly difpatched;.and when the Philifines /aw: thar. champion was dead, of which the cutting off his head.was a demonttrative proof, and which they could difcern at a diftance: they fled’, being forehead, when he had,a;ftruck with a panic: at this. unexpected event; “and no: doubt by the Lord: ifor otherwife had they given themfelves the leaft ‘time to reflect on their own numbers;and ftrength, they had no juft occafion torfi¢e 5 theimfafery not’ depending on a fingle man, thoughoever’ fo:ftrong: upon this occafion or he might) David penned the ninth pfalm. yf. 52.0dudi the men. of Ijrash and of Fudab arofe, &c.} »From their encampment and entrenchment,: puthor they prepared for aspurfuit: and shouted, and purfued the Pbilitines, fhouted when they firft fet out,: and continued fhouting as they purfued,: to animate their own troops,:and terrify thesenemy: wntil thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Zkroz 3: which was one:of the five principalities of the Phili/tines; fo that: they: purfued them to their own cities} and to theovery gates of them: and he wounded of, the. Philiftines. fell. dawn «by the way to Shaaraia: a city inothe tribe of Fudab, and feems tobe the fame:with Sharaim, Fofb. xv. 36. fee the» notelcthere. Fafepbus fays.*, othere: were killed:of the Pdiliftines 30,000, and twice as many leaft) woundedi: even unto Gath, and-unto Ekron, Fofethe pus “has ity ito the: barders, of Gath, and-to the gates of Afcalon, which were two other principalities of the -Phiiftines; according to Bunting’, the whole chafe was this, to the valley and river Sorek four miles; from thence to Ekrom eight miles; to 4/calon 20 miles, and to Gath 24 miles; that is, from the place where Goliath was killed.

helmet of ‘brafs upon his head, y.5..in anfwer, to this Kimehi obferves that fome-fay, that when Da: vid {aid he would give his flefh to the fowls of the air, at the mention of that he looked upwards, and what was upon his. forehead fell backwards, and then David flung and fmote him;

ton Taka |S ee yh 53. Aad the children of Ifrael returned chafing after the Philiftines, 8cc.] The remainder oe irc having pe into these fortified cities: and they fpoiled their tents, which they left in their camp, all their armour, goods, money and pro- and vifions they found there, they feized upon as prey and booty; thefe they did not {tay to meddle with as foon as the Pdili/tines fled; fued them, and flew as many of them as theyjand could, and then returned to the fpoil; which was fromfrom Saul, y. 15. fo that it is obitaid he liad been at Seu/’s court, and in his prefence before’: but to remove this feeming difficulty, it may be obferved, that Sau/ having laboured under a diforder of body mind, might eafily forget David, and his ferving their him in the above capacity; and to which the multi— plicity of bufineds, and of perfons in a court er but firft pur- greatly contributes and what with the dift: the different habits in which Da d appeared, ometimes as a mufician, and fometimes as a fhep- wifely done. herd, and at other times as a foldier, and always as -y54. And, David took the bead of the Philiftine, and brought it to ferufalem, &c.] After he had been introduced with it to Sau/, and when he pafled through various cities in J/racl, carrying the head in triumph; where he was congratulated by the women, who came out finging and dancing, and fpeaking highly in his commendation andjhis praife: why he carried it to Ferufalem, is not eafy ‘to fay, this not being a royal city, nor was it in the hands of the J/raclites; part of it indeed was in the poffeffion of Fudah and Benjamin, but| the ftrong hold of Zion was poflefled by the fates; and it is generally thought, that it was to the terror of them that the head of Goliath was carried there. R. ofeph Kimchi thinks, that where the tabernacle was at this time, was fur-| named Ferufalem, but for what reafon cannot be faid: but he put bis armour in bis tent, not the army was encamped before the engagement; for David had not his tent there, and befide camp broke up upon this victory obtained; but rather in. his tent or apartment at Bethlebem, he returned thither, and where he Jaid up the -mour he took from Golath,; though Abarbinel thinks, and fo otherfews *, that by his tent is meant, the tabernacle of the Lord, called David’s, becaufe of his attachment to it; and certain it is, that the {word of Goliath was either now, or at. leaft hereafter, laid wp there, fee ch. xxi. g. where all that went. to facrifice might fee it, and call to mind this wonderful inftance of the power and goodnefs of ‘God, and praife him for it. of the Philiftine,.

¥. 55. And when Saul faw David go forth againft the Philiftine, &c.) Set out to meet him, and ‘engage with him,:as he might from the: fide of the mountain, where he was encamped: be faid unto Abner the captain of the hoft; his own coufin, whom he had raifed to this high poft in the army, ch. xiv. 50. Abner, whofe fon is this youth? it is thought ftrange by many, that Sau/.fhould not know who he was, when he had been often at his court, and ferved him as.a mufician, and had been very ufeful to. him, and he.loved him, and made him his armour-bearer, and even had juft nowjas converfed with» him about: encountring with the Philifiine, and had clothed him with his own armour: to get rid of the former. part of the objection, fome have fuppofed, that this event happened before David was his: mufician and armourbearer, and is by ‘anticipation fpoken: of in ch. xvi. but that, the conne¢tion with this, and the following chapter, will not admit of; and befides, a fervant, it is no wonder the king fhould not know him again; tho’ after all it is not about his perfor hadjthat he enquires, but whofe fon he was, what was his father’s name, and from what family he {prung 5 for though Seu! was made acquainted with this in the time of his diforder, and therefore fent to father ee for him, and afterwards defired leave for his continuance; yet this might flip out wholly jof his memory in a courfe of time, he having had no perfonal knowledge of ‘Yeffe, nor any correfpondence with him, but juft at that time; and ¥edu-Jit behoved him to know the pedigree of David, fince if he was victorious, he was not only to be enriched by him, but to have his daughter for wife, Nod,jand his family ennobled: and Abner Said, as thy oul liveth, O king, I cannot tell, he {wore by the life of Sau/, as Jofeph by the life of Pharaob, that wherethe knew nothing of him; which need not at alk feem ftrange, that ‘a general of an army, always thejemployed in military affairs, and often abroad, fhould know nothing of a domeftic fervant of Sau/’s, whenjunder the character of a mufician, and not always ar-jat court neither; and ftill lefs) that he fhould be ignorant of his family, and know nothing of his — father, who lived in obfeurity in Bethlebem, and was an old man in thofe days.: asl y. 56. Aud the king faid, enquire thou whofe fon the /ripling is.) Still the queftion is the fame, being verydefirous of knowing of what family he }was, for the reafon before given..

¥..57. And.as David returned from the flaughter 8c.) Carrying his head in triumph, and no doubt accompanied with the acclamations of the people: Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the bead of the Philiftine in bis band; to give an anfwer to the king’s queition concerning him, who' could beft do it himfelf; and that Saad might have the opportunity of rewarding him, according to his merit, for fo great a piece of fervice he had:done for /ael, of which the head in his hand was a fufficient proof.

¥258. And Saul faid unto him, whofe fon art thou, thou young man? &c.]: Still the queftion was fuch did not neceffarily ‘imply ignorance of his perfon, but of his family: and David anfwered, Lam the fon of thy fervant Felfe the Beth-lebemite; which doubtlefs refrefhed the memory of Saul, and the quickly called to mind who he was. © This interview was very probably at Gibeab of Saul, which was the place of his birth and refidence, and where. he kept his court, and to which he returned after the above victory was obtained, ist before this event, David» is faid to return home Sy and wanted bim, and fo was going and returning

Rn eet a) Bon im » Keds »:

AFIS hae Lives: ‘an a ef the. srefpecth fhown to David by Sauljand Jonathan, by | &e the feryants of Saul, and, all the people, and of what was faid in his praife in the fongs of the: women, y. 1-7. which, latter gave Seu/ a great;offence, and.upon which he envied him, and eyed him, and indeed Jought his life,;and removed, him from him; and yet {till he continued the darling of the people, behaving wifely among them, which. greatly embarrafied Saul, that. he knew, not what todo, ¥. 8—.6. he propofed his,eldeft daughter to. him in

Ps 9 Then Jonathan and David wade a. eondian!, +]. Ay covenant of\friendfhip; entered into a folemn agreement to keep up,and maintain. a, cordial refpect to each other, and to. fupport,each - other’s,,intereft both in lite and after'death, whoever was.the-furviver 3 and in confequence of this David» hada friend.at;court, when Saud. fell out with{hin,;and. who pleaded-his caufe, and difeovered his father’s plots; and was the means of.preferving David's life: - becaufe, be loved him as. bis, own oal’s fo that thisscovenant was not founded in marriage, which he had a claim to by killing the Philiftine,and then he baulked him by. another, ¥.17—19, and then he offered his} daughter to him, on condition that he would bring him 100 forefkins of the Philiffines, in the, execution of which he thought his life would be to. danger, | which ch yet he performed, y.,20-227+ and having the affection, of his wife, and,the good efteem of the fervants of Saul, Saul was more of him,,and became his enemy, y. 28—30. for as mere words,. but in fincere.and cordial affection, giving her tojand,was lafting and inviolable. youngefth y, ai Lind: Jonathan, fiript himfelf of the robe that. was. wpon\bim, &c.| Asia token, of his hearty love and.truefriendthip; andj that David might appear expofed at court not in the habit,of a fhepherd,, but in thate of a prince: and gavevit.to David, and bis garments 5 his other garmentstbefides his robe, aud fo afraid clothed, him from top/to-toe,-and which fitted bim; there, was a fimilarity in their fouls, and— the difpofition of them, fo.in the make, and bulk of their bodies, and in the ftature of them: even to his word, and to bis-bow,.and to bis girdle 5 thele, he gave him to accoutre himfelf with, chat -he might. appearas a foldier, as.well as‘like.a prince, that, the. foul. of Jonathan wmas-knit with the David; he won his heart, made a conqueft.of his affedtions, thefe went out towards him,, and unto him; fuch were the..comelinefs of his. perfon, his craceful mein.jand deportment; his freedom una fluency of expreffion,. his courage and uodauntednefs, joined with prudence, modeity, and integrity, that they ftrongly attached him)to him: end ‘Jonathan loved him as. his: own foul; not, only according to. the excellency of Davia’s foul, and the g ereatnefs of it, as that deferved refpect as Abarbinel fuggefts, butyhe loved him.as. heloved himfelf,.There was a fimilarity,in their perfons, in their age,.in the difpofitions of their minds,, in their wifdom, courage, modetty,:

¥. 2. And Saul took him, that day, &e,} sNot aly into his favour, and into his: fervice,. Disa into his court;.even on that very day he flew the P4i. liftine, or however as foon as it, could be. done; end would let him go no more home to. his father’s boufe; as he ufed to do before; when he only ferved as a mufician to him, then he was.only.at foul of and as.another ‘Jonathan, or rather as the fame; that they might. feem.as one, as alike in body, fo in» cleaved garb asses habit.

y..5... Aad. David went out whitherfoever Saul fent — im,. 8¢c:]., About any bufineis whatfoever,, elpecially about martial affairs, for which he was abun; dantly qualified: and, behaved bimfelf wifely; in the management of them, ufing great prudence | and diferetion, and fo. failed not of fuccels, and of recommending himfelf;, the Targum renders: it proand love; Jpering; he-was profperous and fuccefsful in whats {oever ‘he engaged, for the Lord was. with him, and blefied him: and Saul Jet him over the men of. war 5 that.isy of fome of them, gave him the come, faithfulnefs and mand of astroop; for déner,was captain. or general of the army, and. continuedfo.: and he, was.acas.one foul, oas cepted in the fight of all the. people of -all, the people in the land in general, of all that knew or Zhe-)-heard of. him; “being. ra upon as a wife, va-, liant and fuccelsfal commander, and which’ gained him the efteem and. affection of the people: and This, ay 5 yo [ao inthe fight of Saul’s servants; which was very puch, <and,.a’ rare thing, for fervants, are too. apt to.envy., fuch as are rifingin their credit and reputation 3 though this mnt not be-underftood of all, without exception, -but of the generality of them; nor is the word all, uled.of them,.as is of the people; forfome of them took,the. part of Sau/ atterwards againtt David, and were fecretlyn his enemies, opennefs.of foul, that attracted them toeach other, that they. became, as another felf;

Ariftotie {peaks * of true friends: inftances of very cordial friendfhip are given by Plutarch *, as in Jfeusand Pirithous, Achilles and Patroclus, Orefes and Pylades, Pythias and Damen, Epeminondas and Pelopidas 5 but none equal to;

court, when Saul was in a melancholy Snipouiens fee ¥. 227-726, § y.6.. And it came tonpa/sec as sia came, &c.] The» and in the intervals kept his father’s fheep, ch. 15. but now he would not {uffer him to attend fuch bufinefS any longet, fince hé was. ‘not only to, become a courtier, and be made a prince or.noble, bur to marry his daughter, according to the declaration he had made, with refpect to. any man: that xvii, armies. of d/rael, with their, commanders at the bead of them,:; when David-was returned from the Jlaugh- } ser of she: Philiffines 5 either. from the flaughter of Goliath, ‘with: his ¢head in-his.hand going to Feru=. /alem, and Saul accompanying,him 5 or rather from the laughter of the Pbiliftines, at tome other time,

¥. 1, And it came. to. pals awhen. he bad made an end of fpeaking. unto Saul, bc.) In anfwer to his quettions about *his deen and family, and doubtlefs more things were talked of than are recorded):

474. cording to the order of the hiftory, this feems to be done after David was brought to court, and had been made a captain, and chad been fent out on military expeditions, and had been fuccefsful therein, and from one of which he now returned: that thé wowién came out of ail the cities of Ijrael through which they pafled, /imging and dancing, as were ufual after great victories obtained, and deliverances wrought, the female fex being generally greatly affected with fuch things fince when things go otherwife, they fuffer much, and their fears rife high in time of battle; ‘and when victory goes on their fide, it cives them great joy, and which they ufed to expreis in this way': #0 meet king Saul, the commander in chief, with his other officers, and David among the reft: with tabrets, with joy, and with infiruments of mufic; with pipes or flutes, which they both blew with their mouths, and played on with their hands, ‘and_other mufical inftruments exciting joy; the laft word is, by the Targim; rendered, “ with cymbals;” and fo the Septiagint verfion; it fignifies'a mufical infrument of three cords, according to Kimchi, and others,—as Pen Gerfom, underftand it’ of principal fongs,’ in which, things woncerful, excellent and honourable were fpoken of; fee Exod. xv. 20. Judy xi. 34. Such fort of women were among the Romans called Cymnbalifirie and Tympaniftrie*, who fhook the cymbals, and beat upon tabrets and drums at times of rejoicing.

y¥. 7. And-the women’ anfwered one another as they played, 8c} ‘They fung vocally to their inftruments, and that by turns, one rehearfing one line or verfe in the fong, and then -the other another: and -faid, Saul bath flain bis thoufands, and David his ten thoufands, which, if to be’ referred: to the battle in the preceding chapter, as it commonly is, muft be underftood thus, that though Soul, in purfait of the Péiliftines, flew many thoufands of them, and David but one, even Goliath; yet the flaying of him was the occafion of flaying ten thoufands, and therefore it is afcribed to: him: but it feems rather, that in fome after battles David had been more profperous and victorious than Sau/, ahd: therefore fuperior' commendations are given him by the author of the fong the women fung; which however juft it might be to give them, was not wife, fince it ferved to irritate their king, as follows.

¥. 8. And Saul was very wroth, and the faying difpleafed bum, &c.} Partly becaufe they called him plain Saul, and not ‘king Sau/; did not give him his royal title, which might ferve to ftrengthen his fufpicion, after fuggefted; and chiefly becaufe they attributed a greater number of flain to David than to him, as follows: and he faid, they have afcribed unto David ten thoufands, and to me they afcribed but thoufands; and fo had given more honour to an inferior officer than to the commander in“ chief, more to a fubyect than toa fovereign: and’what can he have.more but the kingdom? there is nothing left out of their fong, and nothing remains to be given him but that; fome think that Seu/ knew, by the prudent behaviour of David, and’ the favour he was'in with God and men, and by ‘thefe commendations of the-women, that the kingdom would be his; and that the words of Samuel were true, and would-be confirmed, that the kingdom would be rent from-him, -and giyen to his neighbour better than he. - This claufe, with the three following verfes, are left out of the Greek verfion, according to the Vasican copy.

javelin in Sauls band’, a°kind of fpear, or ha r

! Cer me Ren mEyLeteer are LN ele § looked at‘him with an evil, fpiteful, maliciou envious eye; or he dili watched and all ‘his motions and aétio | to dethrone him, and to difloyalty and ese d take’ the kingdom to himfelf, which he was ‘fufpicious of; he laid wait for him, as the Targum, and laid fhares'too, as the following hiftory fhews. > ¥. 10. And it come’to pafs on the morrow, we].: After the women had met him with their mufic. and dancing, and when returned home: that the evil fpirit from God came upon Saul; Phiiting ‘On 2, - the above things that had paffed, he became me- °_ lancholy:" and be prophefed in the ‘mid of the — houfe; either really, delivering our divine fongs, ° as the prophets did; according to Abarbinel, he foretold that Davzd would be king, and the king dom would be taken from him, ‘and given to him, or.he feigned -himfelf'a prophet, mimicking t ‘motions and geftures; or, as the Targum, a€: like a mad man, ora fool,’ uttering foolifh words, and ufing ridiculous ‘gefturés, which feems: moft * agreeable to the evil {piritin him: and David play- — ed with his band as at other'times; upon his harp,to remove the evil {pirit, or: melancholy difpolition * from Saul’, ‘for though he was now advanced at — court, and an officer in the army, and high in the affections and applaufe of thepeople, yet he did not think ‘it bélow him to’ aé as a mufician to do fervice to His prince; of fuch an humble, kind and ~ ingenuous ‘difpofition washe: and there was a pike, which he had‘taken'into his hand on pur- ' pofe’ to kill David whilft ‘playing; for perfons in ~ luch cireumftances as’ his, as they are very mifchievous, fo very fubtle at contriving: = y. nt. And Saul -caft the javelin, &cc.] “Out of — his hand'at David: for be faid; in his heart, de= termining in his mind > J°will fmite David even tothe wall with it; ‘he determined to caft it-with fuch — force ahd violence, that it fhould pierce through — David, and enter into the very wall,’ by the fide of - which David was: ‘and David avoided out of bis” prefence twice; to efcape’' the javelin caft at him; éither he went our at the’ firft time of its being thrown, and then'came in again, when he threw it” a fecond time at him, upon which he alfo with- - drew; or this was‘one of the times, and the other fome time after, of which fee ch. xix. 9. Abarbinel thinks, that David, whilft he was playing, — his eyes were fo fixed upon his own hands, that he was not aware of the javelin, and turned him- _ felf from Sax/ without intention both times, at a fo efcaped without knowledge of it; fuch was the good ‘providence of God towards him, and which, ‘ when Sau? perceived, it wrought upon him, as follows. deg & RG Oe a y.12. And Saul was afraid of David, Decaufe the Lord was with bim, ey HR: and ae; ferving him, profpering and fucceeding Rian giv- Ane ing him’ viétory’ over his enemies, and favour among the people; the Targum is, “ the Word of the Lord was for his help.” Procopius Gazeus inter-_ prets it of the Holy Ghoft, whofe grace was vouch- © _ _ fafed unto him: he might be afraid in his melane ~ choly fits, that as he had attempted to cake aa ¢; the life of David, that David would contrive and.? feck an opportunity, and take away his life, and the reafon of it follows, and the Lord was with

‘Biven him, and it, as, follows: only be thou valiant for ine, and m ftr ele. feats: and | fght the Lord’s batiles; was departed from Saul, {ot > was deftitute man, courage, and oes of mit d, and of wifdom| that in and prudencé, became mean and abject, and} high expoied himfelf t0 the contempt of his fubjects., ‘¥ 13. Therefore Saul remy Ben ay &c.Jj}ous From court, partly that er ight be out of his fight, having fuch an hatred of his perfon, that he could not ‘bear to fee him;

¥. 14. And David behaved himfelf wifely in all bis ways, -&c.] Both in the court, and in the ‘camp, in whatfover fervice he was employed; or » projpered*, as the word alfo fignifies; for, generally {peaking, thofe that behave wifely fucceed well; in this he was a type of Chrift, J/ lii. 13. he knew he was a valiant and ready enough to ght; bur jie expected confideration of fuch a favour, and fuch honour as this, that he would exert bimfelf in an extraordinary manner, and engage in hazardattempts, and thew himfelf worthy to be the fon of a king, in the defence of him and of his country, and.for the glory of the God of J/rael; and partly that hejall this he fuggelts, when his view was; that he fhould expofe his life to fuch danger, that it might be hoped it would be taken away: for Saul faid; thou-) not openly and verbally, but in his heart; he thought within himfelf, /et not mine band be upon him; he had attempted to lay hands on him, or to kill him with his, own hands, but now he thought better, and confulted his credit among the people: ut let the hand of the Philifiines be upon him; he hoped by thefe. means that he would fall by their hands at the head of his troop, whilft he was difplaying his valour, and hazarding his life for the good of his king and country;.what Sau/ contrived, own cafe, he died in battle with the Philiftines, ch, xxxi. 4.

might be fafer from any defigns of his upon his life, which he might fear, becaufe of his treatment of him: and made bim his captain over a Jand not out of refpect to him, and in honour of him, but partly to cover his malice, and pleafe the people, and partly in hope that he might. be fiain by the enemy at the head of his troop:, azd be went cut and came in before the people, or at the head of them, as the Targum; he led them out to war, and returned with them in fafety, with victory and in triumph, with great honour, and highly refpected by them; quite contrary to the intention and hope of Saul. proved his.

y. 18. Aud David faid unto Saul, &c.].Sur« prized at the offer Sau/ made him, yet not refufing it, but expreffing himfelf with great modefty and humility: who am J? as to his perfon, parentage and employment, mean and defpicable, at leaft in his own eyes, atype of the lowly. Jefus, Matt. xi 29. and what is my life? keeping theep, for from thence was he taken and advanced; though fome think his meaning is, that to hazard his-life, as Saud propofed, was not equivalent to fuch an honour. he meant to confer upon him, and that he was ready to do it at.all times: or. my father’s family in If- kim; from whom he had his wifdom and fuccefs; the Targum is, ** the Word of the Lord was for his help.”

y¥.15. Wherefore when Saul Jaw that he behaved himfelf very wifely, &c.] So that he could get no _ advantage againft him, and he fucceeded and was profperous in all his enterprizes, and was more and snore in favour with the people:

bim; ‘eft the time was drawing near that the kingdom fhould be rent from him, and given to rae/; though in an honourable tribe, and was an be was afraid of honourable family, yet it feems not to be very oreat, at leaft was not.in David’s efteem worthy of fuch high advancement, as that one of it fhoul

David. be fo nearly related to the king; Ben Gerfom thinks « y. 16. And all Ifraél and Fudah loved: David, &c.] The verb is fingular, and denotes, that every one of them loved him in all the tribes of Ffraek, as well as in ‘fudab his own tribe; in fuch general efteem was he, and fo much had he got the hearts and affections of the people: decaufe be went out and came in before them; the people, as in ¥. 13. fo the Septuagint verfion, in which, according to the Vatican copy, the three following verfes are wanting. _. \holathite to wife;

¥.17. And Saul faid to David, &c.]_ Not in friendfhip and in good-will to him, but defigning to lay a fnare for him: debold, my eldeft daughter Merab, ber will I give thee to wife; moft interpreters underftand it, that he was obliged to this by promife, on account of David's laying Goliath, ch. xvii. 25. but Abarbinel is of another mind, and he rightly obferves, that the words referred to are not the words of Saa/, but of the men of J/- vael, who might fuppofe what the king would do; or if they heard any thing like it fpoken by Sau it was only in a hyperbolical way, fignifying he did not care what he gave, and what he parted with, to the man that killed the Phzlifine, but was not ftriétly bound to this particular thereby; David ever claim fuch promife, nor did Sau/ think himfelf bound to do it, but propofes it as an inftance of his great kindnefs and favour, as he pretended, and therefore expected great returns for David has reference to. the original of his fa+ mily, Ruth the Moabite/s:. that I fhould be fon inaw to the king? as he. would be by marrying his daughter.;

y.19. But it came to pafs at that time when Merab Saul’s daughter foould bave been given to David, &c.] Either when the giving of her to him was talked of, or when the time fixed for her marriage was come: shat fhe was given to Adriel the Me- Saui either having in reality never defigned fhe fhould be given to David, only propofed it.to pleate the people, or to affront David, and expofe him to fhame and confufion by the ftep he meant to take, or however he foon changed his mind; though Abarbinel’s notion is, that the young lady had difpofed of herfelf to this perfon without her father’s knowledge, which feems not likely;, the perfon fhe was given to was the fon of Barzillai the Mebelathite, 2 Sam. xxi. 8. and fome have obferved, as the curfe of God on this, | match, that all her fons were delivered to the Gibeonites, and hanged up, as related in the fame place 5. for though thefe fons are faid to be brought up by Michal, they were bore by Merad to him. nor did) y.20. And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David, &c.}] His youngeft daughter fell in love with him, becaufe of the comelinefs of his perfon, his gal- Jant behaviour, his wife condu¢t, and the. general efteem and’ reputation he was had in, as may be pe 220 profpere admodum res gerebat, Vatablus; fecundabatur, Jonins & Tremellius, Pifeator; fo the Targum and. arc y*

' Saul faid to David; who was as yet at court, ‘or femove them, and. efpecially what con ee - ’ fuppo fed: and they told Saul, and the thing pleafedjqubte bi stot that his" daughter loved David ‘or that able’

the people, whieh was greatly funk by ufing Devidie rdin in the manner he did, who was become the darling David was no of the people. ieee Blin a nee eh by the ‘pec ¥.21. And Saul foid, 1 will give him her, that who - he was iy:

prore éafion of his fall and ruin, by means of what he him in giv fhould propofe to him as the condition of but inftead of proving a fnare to him, as fhe was the means of his deliverance, w whom he fent for on this occafion: thou fhalt this day be my fon in-law, in the one of the twain, by fore marrying ‘one of his two daughters; fignifying, that he would not defer the marriage, or put it off to a longer time, as he had done before, but that he fhould be married immediately to one or other of his daughters; and fecing he could not have the eldefl, the being difpofed of, he fhould have the youngeft, and io be equally his fon-in-law, If we read the words without the fupplemenr, /ha bé-my fon in-law in the two, or in both, the fenfe dowry': the king defireth not any dowry, but.» kins of the Philiftines, to be avenged on the k enemies; that is, he required or defired no oth dowry of David, but that he would flay.1 O /iéines, and bring their forefkins to him; yw he*would be’ able’ to know that they w 2 simes he flew, not Jraelites who were circu: though ‘it can’t well be thoug that Saw how: have any fufpicion of that, or take fach auf z}to prevent. it;. but as thofe were almoii is, that he fhould have them both; and fo the ews fay %, that he married them both, firft Meraé, and after her death Michal, or that he fhould be his fon-in-law on two accounts, one by betrothing Merab, though he was not married to her, and the other by being married to Michal, fo that he would be doubly*his fon-in-law; but the fenfe, according to the fupplement, is beft.

y. 22. And Saul commanded his fervants, faying, commune with David secretly, &c.\ And perfuade him to marry Michal, and affure him of Saul’s real regard to him, and good intention towards him, for it feems that David being ill ufed in the affair, of his eldeft daughter, did not liften-to the propo- {als of Sau? as to the youngeft, and therefore Saw took this method to bring him into them:. amd fay, behold, the king hath a delight in thee; bore a good will towards him, had an high opinion of him, and it would be a pleafure to him that he fhould be his fon-in-law: and all bis fervants love thee; which might be true in general, excepting fome few; which was no {mall mortification to Saul, tho’ he here pleads it, and puts his fervants on making the head of an enemy, and brings it to the king; jand the king lays up the fkulls in a treafury, and he is the moft: famous that +has the moft heads _ brought unto him. Sau/ chofe not heads but forefkins, for the reafons before given: but Saul thought, © s%’ make David fall by ihe band of the Philiffines; he hoped in the enterprize the Philifines would ¢ too powerful for him, and kill him. rare | an y. 26. And when bis. fervants told Dav words, &c.] THat the king defired no carried in it a fhew of.zeal.for the glory of God, and the good of his people, and becaufe he hoped. David would fall by them in the enterprize, or, however render himlelf very odious to them, and they would bear him ill will; and feek his tins Strabo” reports of the people in Carmana, the “no man among them marries a wife, before he cuts off

David might hear and underftand them: and David faid, feemeth it to you a light thing to be @ king’s Jon-in-law, a {mall thing, a trifling matter, an eafy thing to come into, and perform every thing rte-' figned for him in due time days 3 expired;' neither for’ the bringit a ia, te {kins, nor for the confummation of th 2 USVREPA EOUDNTA eae

© yay. bis men, and flew of the Philiftines 200 men, &c.) This te did himfelf, for the verb is fingular, and

Wherefore David arofe and went, be and his wife loved him; fo that he feared he fhould never be able to accomplifh his defigns, and thar this marriage, which he intended as the means of which were roo more than required;

to fhew his regard to the orders of Sau/, and his obedience to: ae and to teftify the fincerity of his affe€tions his daughter, for whofe fake tifqued his life in this expedition, as well as prefs his zeal for God, and his country, againft their avowed enemies; the Greek verfion has only one hundred men, fee 2 Sam. iii. 14. and David this he didjhis ruin, would pave the way for his afcending the throne: and Saul became Dovia’s enemy conti~ ually; was every day giving frefh evidehice of his hejenmity again{ft him, before it was by fits, and at to ex-jcertain times, there were fome intervals; but now enmity was rooted and habituated, and was con- {tant and continually fhewing itfelf.

¥. 30. Then the princes of the Pbhilifines went brought their fore/kins; along with him to Saul’s court, having taken them off when flain. Fo/ephus fays*, he cut off their heads, and brought them to him, and he makes the number to be 600; neither are according to the text, but to make his hiftory more agreeable to the Gentiles, fee y. 21. an Arabic writer * makes mention of a people, that cut off the genital parts of men, and gave them to their wives for their dowry: and they gave orth, &e.] Out of their cities in troops, to revenge and fpoil the land of J/rae/, being enraged at their defeat when Goliath their champion was flain, and at the injury and difhonour done them by David very lately in flaying 200 of them, and taking off their forefkins; and, as the Jews fay *, having heard of the marriage of David, and underftanding the J/raelites had a law, that a newmarried man might not go to the war the firft them in full tale to the king; the meffengers David year, took this opportunity of invading and {poil- fent in with them, even the full tale of 200, which were as many more as were demanded: that he wight ke the king’s fon-in-law, being ‘now as defirous of it, as the king was: and Saul gave bim Michal bis daughter to wife; which he could not in honour refufe to do, feeing he had performed the ing thems; whereas David. underftood that Jaw better than they, and knew it referred not to a voluntary war, but to that which was the command of God againft the feven nations; and even in that cafe, as fome think, it did not oblige fuch perfons to remain at home, but left it to their condition he had required. David’s marriage of choice to do as they pleafed: and it came to pa/s the younger fifter, when upon various confiderations it might have been expected that he fhould after they went forth, and were met and oppofed by the J/raelites, by the troops of Saul, under dif- have married the elder, may be an emblem of Chrift’s efpoufing the Gentile church, when the Fewifh church, her elder fifter, is neglected ferent commanders: that David behaved him/felf more wifely than all the fervants of Saul, thewed byjhimfelf to be more expert in the art of war, and him, fhe having rejected him.

¥.28. And Saul faw and knew that the Lord was with David, &c.] This he perceived by the favour he gave him among men, by over-ruling all the fteps Sau? took to do him hurt, for his good, and in giving him fuccefs in all that he engaged in; the Targum is, ‘* that the Word of the Lord was for the help of David:” and that Michal Saul’s daughter loved him; and therefore could entertain no hope of making ufe of her as an inftrument of his ruin, but, on the contrary, would out of her great affection to her hufband, betray the defigns of her father againft him, and do all fhe could to preferve him.

¥. 29. And Saul was yet the more afraid of Da-

formed defigns with great wifdom and prudence, and which he as wilely executed, as well as with great courage and valour, to the annoyance and defeat of the enemy, and to the advantage, defence and fafety of the people of J/rael; or he was more profperous than they, as the Targum, and fo others interpret it; he was more fuccefsful in his attacks on the Pdilzfines, and in his fkirmifhes with them: fo that bis name was much fet by; he was in high efteem with the people; his name was precious“ to them, as the word fignifies; they made mention of it, as Ben Gerfom interprets it, with great honour and glory; fo that Sau/ failed much, and was greatly difappointed in the {cheme he had formed againit him.

vid, &c.] Becaufe the Lord was with him, and